Hit And Run
by SirusPolaris
Summary: AU: After causing an unfortunate accident, Kagome Higurashi's guilty conscience ropes her into doting on the injured party until he recovers. But when he turns out to be a total jerk, can Kagome keep her promise to herself, or will pride get in the way?
1. Serendipity

**A/N--** Well here I am with a short prologue/teaser for you all. We've been having internet issues lately, and so I promised myself that as soon as the internet was up n' stable I'd give the readers a taste of my newest fic. Enjoy!  
  
**DISCLAIMER--** Normal disclaimer applies. I don't own Inu-Yasha or its characters. Blah.

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**Hit and Run**

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Cold.  
  
His first coherent thought since the world stopped swimming was that it was cold enough to freeze Hell. Gooseflesh rose on his bare arms, and he would have shivered had he the energy to do so.   
  
His second coherent thought was that he was unbelievably exhausted.   
  
For some odd reason, he felt completely drained, even the simple task of breathing took a conscious effort. In, Out, In, Out. The rise and fall of his chest was painfully erratic.   
  
Faintly, he could hear the soft patter of water on the windshield, the thick scent of rain hovering like a film and making him feel drowsy. However, the sharp chill in the air kept him from drifting off again.  
  
Where was he? His eyes flickered open momentarily but could not interpret the fuzzy shadows that were dancing their way across his vision. With a groan, he tried to lift his head, only to be rewarded with tiny needles of pain that took it upon themselves to stab at his entire body.   
  
Okay, so he'd stay put. He could live with that. . .  
  
He could taste the metallic tang of blood as it trickled out of the corner of his mouth, coating his swollen tongue and leaving a bitter aftertaste as he tried to swallow it down. After several failed attempts to fully open his eyes, he noticed just how heavy everything was. His hand, he couldn't lift it; it lay useless, crushed under the remnants of the dashboard.   
  
Nothing was making sense. . . Angrily he tried to drown out the constant drumming of rainwater that droned in his ears, his concentrated attempts causing his head to ach but slowly bringing soft murmurs in and out of focus.  
  
With a sigh, he allowed his leaden eyelids to ease close, too tired to fight to keep them open. It was difficult to keep a straight train of thought; his head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton.   
  
Fuck, he wasn't dead was he?   
  
A small drop of rain dripped onto his temple, causing him to twitch in surprise. Nope, not dead if the shock of cold water still sends a jolt to the nerves.   
  
Coming to the conclusion that he was not dead and very much alive, the young man tried to figure out what kind of dreamland he had unknowingly entered on the drive home... It was cold, and it was raining. Not exactly what he would have pictured for the harbor for the unconscious mind, but who was he to judge?  
  
A small hand came up to tap his clammy cheek hesitantly, the light touch snapping his thoughts back to the present.   
  
He grunted in annoyance, but the hand continued to pat the side of his face, this time with more urgency than before. That wasn't his hand was it? He wiggled his fingers slightly to be sure that the irritating slaps weren't his own doing.  
  
"Hey. . . Hey! Stay with me, here!" a feminine voice demanded nervously. "Don't crap out on me before the ambulance gets here. . ."  
  
_'Ambulance?_' his mind reeled painfully.  
  
Another voice whimpered meekly behind the first, thick with tears and stillborn hiccups. "P-please, is he g-going to be okay? He's n-not dead, is h-he, nee-chan?"  
  
With newfound determination he forced his eyes open, only to have them bombarded by an incomprehensible play of light and shadows. He tried speaking, but his throat was so thick with blood and saliva that the words escaped as an almost inaudible breathy whisper. "Wh-what's. . . going. . . on?"  
  
The first voice sighed in relief, and the hand stopped its annoying pats to gently brush his bangs away from his face.   
  
"You were in an accident," the voice spoke, wavering slightly as the slim fingers paused to caress his forehead. "You can remember stuff right? I mean, you didn't hit your head that hard, you don't have amnesia, do you? Can you remember your name?"   
  
He relaxed under her touch-- the hand was comfortingly warm on his rain-chilled skin and the woman's voice soothed his mind into a state of semi-consciousness; calm but awake.   
  
Thick blood slowly made its way down the side of his face in rivulets, matting his hair and creating a sticky mess of the long tresses. The stranger ran her free hand through the bloodied mats, stroking in slow, peaceful motions that caused his scalp to tingle.   
  
She spoke again, laying her palm flat against his cool forehead and sending waves of heat coursing through the extent of his numbed body. "What's your name?"  
  
He allowed his eyes to flicker shut, hoping feverishly that the hand would continue to warm his forehead instead of smacking him back to reality again.   
  
The rain continued to drone in the background, giving the entire scenario a surreal, dreamlike status as the mysterious woman rubbed her thumb consolingly over his temple.   
  
"Please, what's your name?" the voice repeated softly, her pulse racing against his brow.   
  
His words came out in a ragged sigh as his world slowly faded to black, and the stranger had to strain to hear them over the soft percussion of rain on the pavement and the distant wail of a siren.   
  
"Inu. . . Yasha. . ." 


	2. Knockin' On Heaven's Door

**A/N:** Okay, well, I was feeling generous, so here's a long first chapter for y'all. Random note: Inu-Yasha is so cute.

**DISCLAIMER:** Still don't own it.

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**Knockin' on Heaven's Door**

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'Inu-Yasha.'

Kagome had written it on at least fifty different forms, unable to supply the hospital staff with anything more than the poor man's name.

Immediately after she had entered the sterilized atmosphere of the infirmary-- shivering and dripping rainwater on their spotless floors-- several men and women in turquoise scrubs forced her into the waiting room, shoving a stack of forms into her hands and ushering away without allowing her to explain the situation.

Damn, she never thought she'd be spending her 20th birthday in some crummy hospital, that was for sure.

Manipulated by her mother's urgent pleas, in some insane act of desperation to find someone to baby-sit her kid brother for a few weeks, she had driven to Tokyo to spend her summer vacation at home. It wasn't so bad; she had become quite homesick over the past two years away at college. But to playing nursemaid to that little nuisance...

So there she was on her 20th birthday, honoring her mother's half-baked requests and screaming for Sota to come out of the rain. As is nature of all younger siblings, Sota chose to ignore his sister's angry shouts and chose to chase a frog as it hopped across the rain-slick road instead.

With every intention of dragging him back into the house by his hair, Kagome had raced off after the boy, not noticing that her brother had successfully captured the illusive amphibian and made it safely across the road.

She, in an unbridled frustrated rage, had forgotten the one god damn safety rule that had been mercilessly pounded into the sugar-assaulted brains of small, defenseless children ever since the invention of the automobile: Look both ways before crossing the street.

In fact, if it hadn't been for the driver's-- Inu-Yasha's-- amazing reflexes, she'd probably be a mutilated squishy mess of road pizza right now. Unfortunately, those chain-lightning reflexes didn't save Inu-Yasha from the tree that seemed to jump out in front of his car.

With a haggard sigh, Kagome tapped a borrowed pen against her teeth, fighting the urge to chew on the tip as she desperately sought answers for the damn papers. She wasn't even allowed to see the guy until she filled out the proper paperwork, and with that ancient-looking nurse giving her the evil eye over the receptionist desk, there was no hope of sneaking into ER to check up on him, either.

Speaking of which, she wondered how it was going. Looking up from her half-filled forms, she leaned as far forward as she could without falling out of her chair to try and spot any activity beyond the twin doors that separated her from the rest of the hospital. They were a dark granite color, in stark contrast with the pristine whiteness of the walls and floor.

To her great disappointment, the doors remained closed. Damn it. How long did it take to set a few bones, filter in a few fluids, monitor a possible concussion, sew up a few holes...

Immediately she felt a twinge of guilt momentarily freeze her system-- that poor man. He had looked pretty beat up; lacerations and bruises marring his skin while the rain probably gave him pneumonia. Whenever he opened his eyes, they were clouded and unfocused... though a most unusual shade of amethyst...

No, must not think such thoughts of a man she had (however unintentionally) almost gotten killed.

She shook her head, absently running a hand through her damp hair as she forced her mind to concentrate on the forms on her lap, determined to answer them to her best ability.

_**Name of Patient:** Inu-Yasha (Last name unknown)_

_**Age of Patient:** No idea._

_**Address/Phone number:** See above answer._

_**Does patient have Medical Insurance:** Oh, God, I hope so..._

The next few questions were a little more personal, asking for a social security number and a family doctor and what have you. Kagome decided to skip ahead a bit, skimming the paperwork to find questions she could answer without difficulty.

Twenty minutes later, she threw the pen down in utter frustration. Hospitals suck. Didn't they have computers or something that could look up all this information for her? Was it really necessary to force her already frazzled brain to reinvent this man's life?

It was probably all some dirty conspiracy; created by the doctors and nurses to use millions of useless and unanswerable questions to drive their patients' families psycho, thus earning them billions of dollars from psychiatric specialists and counselors who in took in the head-cases.

Before she was able to work herself into an aggravated rage and became a threat to the hospice staff, an older woman in customary hospital smock hobbled through the thick double doors leading to the ER. She paused for a moment, scanning the room with one eye.

With the exception of herself, Kagome found the waiting room conspicuously empty, and thus decided that it was she the older nurse was looking for. Paperwork (conveniently) forgotten, the young woman rose from her seat to approach the elderly lady, wringing her hands nervously behind her back.

However, once she got a good look at the nurse, Kagome wished she'd had stayed seated.

To say the woman was intimidating would have been an understatement. Though stooped with age, her wrinkles gave her a fiercely gnarled appearance; her graying hair tied at the nape of her neck and her face anything but welcoming. To Kagome's horror, she discovered that the woman was missing her right eye, a grizzly-looking patch obscuring the vacant hole from sight.

Kagome tried not to recoil at the stranger's haggard look, managing to pass off the wince as a deranged sort of twitch.

"Ah, yes, child-- ye must be Inu-Yasha's fiancé, are ye not?" the woman asked in a gravelly voice.

'He has a fiancé?' Kagome shook her head hastily, blushing a bit as those glassy wine-colored eyes flashed in the back of her mind. "No, ma'am, my name is Kagome Higurashi. I, uh, I'm sort of the cause of the whole accident-thing."

The nurse nodded, folding her arms in front of her chest and closing her eye meditatively. "Of course. Ye brought him here, did ye not?"

"Er, yeah, sort of," she answered, caught slightly off guard by the nurse's unfamiliar accent. She spoke with an Old-English-Medieval sort of tongue, saying 'you' as 'ye' and 'thy' as 'your'. "Is Inu-Yasha okay?"

The one-eyed nurse lowered her head, her eye remaining closed as her disciplined voice became numb. Having worked in hospitals for nearly a half a century, she knew how to keep from distressing the patient's families and friends by betraying too much emotion.

"He has several fractures, a few cracked ribs and a twisted ankle-- all of which should heal in due time..." she paused, looking for Kagome's encouraging nod to continue. "... However, the impact of the crash put a detrimental pressure on the fourth and fifth vertebra in his back. It's a miracle his spine didn't snap."

"S-snap?" Kagome repeated, fear welling in the pit of her stomach. God, was he... She felt sick.

"He should make a full recovery," the nurse assured quickly, noting the green tinge to Kagome's skin, "though he should remain as inert as possible for the next few months. Thou should make sure he does not put any more strain on his spinal column, t' would be disastrous."

Kagome fidgeted nervously. "Well, y' see, I don't really know him, haven't actually met him yet. He sort of conked out while I called the ambulance."

"I see." The woman folded her arms behind her back professionally. "Please, if ye would, tell me the circumstances of the accident, Ms. Higurashi."

Kagome ran a hand through her hair absentmindedly, not noticing the way her arms trembled. "Y' see, my younger brother chased a frog across the road, so I ran after him. I didn't see Inu-Yasha's car coming, but I guess I wasn't looking..." She had the grace to blush. "Anyways, he swerved and hit a tree. I tried getting some information out of him but all I got before he conked out on me was his name."

The elderly woman nodded, watching the rattled girl through a narrowed eye. "His full name is Inu-Yasha Hatsuyo, 25 years of age. He lives alone in an apartment around this area, his only living relative a half-brother by the name of Sesshomaru Hatsuyo. Engaged to a woman named Kikyo Amaryllis-- we tried to inform her of her fianc's condition, but could not get hold of her. I expect she would want to be here."

The girl stood with a blank expression, slowly absorbing the information. In less than thirty seconds the blanks in the man's paperwork were filled themselves out. Hatsuyo? Lives alone? Half-brother? Engaged?! Wait a minute...

"Let me get this straight," Kagome's brow folded into a small frown as she scowled for all she was worth. "You had me sit here for _two hours_ making crap up about this guy when you KNEW about him all along?!"

In a bizarre, frightening way, the grizzled, one-eyed nurse actually managed to look sheepish.

Kagome felt like ripping her hair out. "You people are sick!"

The nurse smiled wryly. "My name is Kaede, I am the matron of this wing. Mr. Hatsuyo will be under my care until he is well enough to be released. I am sorry for your inconvenience, Ms. Higurashi."

"Liar."

Kaede chuckled, shaking her head gently. "Come, child, I'm sure ye wish to see him."

With surprising swiftness for one who walked with a slight hobble, the nurse spun on her heel and knocked aside the heavy double doors; pausing momentarily to make sure Kagome was following. With a meek noise of affirmation, the young woman trailed behind Kaede and entered the Emergency Wing, marveling at the anxious tension that clogged the stuffy air.

It was a completely different world behind the twin doors-- the waiting room had a serene feel to it, quiet and calming; probably to try and lull the nervous occupants into a state of lethargy. Behind the doors, however, there was a sense of desperateness that made Kagome uneasy.

People in nurse's outfits were rushing back and forth across the wide hallway, many carrying scary-looking implements as they hurried to save their hapless patients. They seemed to operate in some separate mode of consciousness, so deeply indulged in their work that Kagome hesitated in entering their domain for fear of disrupting their MoJo.

However, Kaede didn't hesitate or even slow as she snaked her way around the frantic-looking staff, neither slowing them in their tasks nor distracting them from them. Kagome followed quickly, not wanting to be left behind in this madhouse.

'Figures,' Kagome huffed as they reached the end of the long corridor, winded from weaving wildly around the nurses, who-- apparently-- were on strict orders not to stop for anyone. 'That man is more trouble than he's worth. I nearly got myself run over twice in one day.'

Kaede paused to look over her shoulder, mistaking Kagome's breathlessness for hesitation. "Thy has had a long day, would ye rather come back tomorrow?"

Taking a deep breath to try and regulate her breathing, Kagome shook her head, pushing open the door to Inu-Yasha's room with only a slight shudder. "No, I'd rather see him now, if it's okay."

"Ye should know he is resting, child. T' would not be wise to wake him, but ye may sit with him for a while. I will leave ye your privacy."

Gathering her courage, Kagome nodded, her heart beating erratically and her nerves completely shot. God, this was hard... did she really want to see the damage that she was responsible for? They might have shorn off all of his thick raven hair to accommodate his wounds; his intestines might be hanging out, or worse-- in a jar, he could be in a full body cast; or his lower half could be viciously mangled and...

Kagome let out a grunt of frustration-- she was only making things difficult for herself. She should just head on in, no problem, Kaede had already made it clear that he was going to live, so it couldn't be that bad... Before her valor could fail her, she forced herself to move forward, entering the room with slow, cautious steps.

She was immediately blasted with the stench of sterilizer, tainted ever so slightly with the odor of rubbing alcohol. It burned the inside of her nose and caused her eyes to water annoyingly, and she hastily scrubbed them to rid herself of the mild stinging the tears caused.

The room itself, in some insane act to replicate the blazing glory of heaven's pristine pallor, was painted a blinding white (what is it with hospitals and the color white?). The bright walls were completely bare save for a window near the corner, it's blinds drawn; and with a distinct lack of furniture, the room was very lonely-looking.

There was only one cot, its immaculate white sheets folded neatly over the man sleeping in them.

Inu-Yasha.

Her own sharp intake of breath seemed to deafen the quiet room, sending shocks to her already extremely jumpy nerves. The sight of the man was almost too much.

To put it simply, he looked like hell. Medical gauze covered his torso like a bloodstained shirt, a sling from the ceiling kept his right leg elevated. His hair (thank God) had been left untouched, though a white bandage wrapped itself around his head, pushing back his unruly bangs.

Kagome let out a tense sigh, inching her way to Inu-Yasha's bedside. 'Aren't people's faces supposed to be peaceful when they sleep?' Kagome wondered, seating herself at his side and folding her hands in her lap. The man's handsome face was twisted into a scowl, his eyebrows furrowing unconsciously as his mouth tightened and curled in his slumber.

Hesitantly, she reached out with a trembling hand to carefully run her fingers through the lengthy black tresses that hung over his shoulder. She was surprised at the softness of his hair, feeling a twinge of jealousy as she stroked the thick locks. Her hair wasn't nearly as silky.

His mouth curled into a frown and he mumbled something as he floated along the edges of consciousness, responding to her ministrations with a low rumble deep in his chest. Kagome blinked in surprise, her fingers freezing in the black mane

Good God, was he purring?

She snatched her hand away as if she had been burned.

'Okay,' Kagome could feel blood rushing to her face, 'We'll look, not touch.'

The monitor beside him hummed softly, and she let her eyes trail the blue and red wires that buried themselves underneath the folds of his bandages. What they were for, she couldn't guess, but they looked out of place against the clean white bindings.

She watched his bandaged chest rise and fall with each breath, slouching forward and resting her chin in her hands. He had her full attention now-- he seemed to sense her interest and deepened his scowl.

She returned it with one of her own, mumbling under her breath. "Deal with it, you made me feel super guilty for all of this. I'm only here refilling my Karma-tank."

Inu-Yasha made no response.

Kagome sighed, leaning back in her chair and continuing on her tirade as if he had asked her to carry on. "What were you thinking, anyways? I mean did you assume that the tree was going to hop out of your way? I mean, you didn't even slow-- not like you could have or anything. . ."

Still no reply.

"Well, thanks, I guess. I'd be sporting a lovely tire-track if it wasn't for you, and then I'd be the mummy wired like a deranged Christmas tree." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I don't think that'd work out, either. I hate hospitals; they're... too clean, I think. It's frightening, really. Nothing was meant to be that clean. Soap isn't even that clean."

Silence.

"So, thanks for sacrificing your car and-- well, your physical condition-- for me."

Was he _snoring_ now?

"Oh, and by the way," Kagome drawled, her eyebrow twitching ever so slightly. "Giant bunnies have taken over the Earth and only those with carrots shall be spared."

Zzzzzz...

Kagome groaned in frustration, burying her head in her hands. That dimwit! It was like talking to a wall.

No, _walls_ didn't insult your conversational skills by FALLING ASLEEP.

She rose to leave, brushing off her skirt in an almost businesslike fashion before giving the sleeping man a disgruntled pout. "Jerk."

As she walked briskly to the door, Inu-Yasha began to stir. All of a sudden he felt cold again, the heat source that had been lolling him into a contented drowse had been cut off abruptly, allowing a chill to settle over him once more. He growled to himself, missing the warmth radiating from his bedside in waves.

Prying an eye open (and wincing at the ungodly amounts of blinding white), the man peered around, fighting to keep his mind from shutting down again. It was like he was muffling his thoughts with cotton, stuffing his head with fiber until it came out his ears.

"Uhnn..." he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.

The sound startled Kagome, and she whirled around to face the cot. Inu-Yasha's face was contorted into a flinch, his lips moving ever so slightly. Rushing over to his side, she leaned forward, trying to catch his soft words. When she couldn't, she hovered over him, tilting her head so that her ear was positioned over his mouth.

His words were barely audible, muffled by her hair.

Inu-Yasha was almost too warm; the heat felt far too close, it nearly burned. His eyes snapped open, peering up to see an eerily familiar face hovering just above his. Her dark hair brushed across his lips in the softest of touches, her features slightly blurred by the bright light.

An angel?

He breathed a sigh of relief, his brain slowly registering the image. She was so beautiful; she practically glowed. Raising a bandaged hand to her face, he cupped her cheek, lifting his head to give her mouth a gentle kiss. He didn't notice her gasp of surprise, or see her brown eyes widening with shock.

He pulled back, smiling against her lips and uttering his first real words upon returning to the land of the living:

"Kikyo..."


	3. Morning Glory

**A/N--** Squeezing out one more chapter before band-camp. Joy. Anyways, here's to my super-uber-cool reviewers: YOU GUYS KICK ASS!!! I love getting reviews. It brightens my day.  
  
P.S. Thanks to everyone who reviewed "Inu's One-Shot Rant" as well. The world needs more people like you.  
  
P.P.S. The song in this chapter (the few lines I quoted from it, anyways) is titled "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve. Awesome song. You should listen to it.  
  
**DISCLAIMER:** Inu-Yasha Anime Manga Fans Worldwide = Not mine.

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**Morning Glory**

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His lips tasted like peppermints.  
  
Kagome's heart thudded painfully in her chest as a blush crept to her cheeks. His lips were softer and silkier than his hair, sending mild shocks to her system. Her brain chanted internally, a mantra something along the lines of 'this isn't happening, this isn't happening, God, _please_ don't do this to me, he's unavailable and this isn't happening' as his lips caressed hers in a chaste kiss.  
  
What the hell had gotten in to him? What was he _thinking_? Their closeness put Kagome's mind in danger of shutting down. Had he hit his head harder than they thought?   
  
Much to her relief, he broke the kiss-- but refused to let her pull away, his callused thumb caressing her cheek with surprising tenderness. Kagome gulped. What in the name of all things holy and good was going on?!  
  
"Kikyo. . ."  
  
_Ooooh._   
  
Hastily brushing his hand away, she shot back in her chair, her body completely ridged with embarrassment. Now that there was a larger margin of space between them, Kagome found herself able to breathe again, though her heart was still ramming itself against her ribcage.  
  
What the hell had just happened?  
  
An adorable look of confusion crossed Inu-Yasha's features as he tilted his head to follow her movements. Her face swam in and out of focus, so he blinked hard a few times, trying to rid himself of the blurriness as his eyes began to adjust to the brightness of the room.  
  
Why had she pushed him away? She had never rejected him like that before.  
  
"K-Kikyo?" he asked tentatively, reaching out to touch her face.  
  
Kagome blushed again, brushing off the hand flippantly and refusing to meet his eyes. "Nope, sorry."  
  
He studied the woman carefully, watching her shift stiffly in her seat. She looked around uncomfortably, pointedly avoiding his gaze and bowing her head to hide the flush that painted her cheeks.   
  
Kikyo never blushed.  
  
Violet eyes slowly unclouded, and when they did, he blanched, realizing his mistake.  
  
Shit.  
  
Something inside him snapped-- his frustrations boiled over in a mad display of violence as he thrashed around in his bedding, scaring Kagome half to death with his wild yells.  
  
"Who the hell are you, bitch? Where am I? Where's Kikyo?! Damn it!!" Inu-Yasha's voice continued to rise, feeling helpless and confused. God, he _hated_ that feeling! "Why the fuck am I here?! Are you listening, wench?!"  
  
"Well, good morning, sunshine. . ." Kagome mumbled sarcastically, bristling under his gaze. Still, part of her was immensely thankful he wasn't bringing up the kiss in his mile-long rant.  
  
What happened to the pitiful Inu-Yasha that couldn't even decipher bunnies from apologies in his unconscious state?   
  
"Fucking bitch, answer me!"  
  
'Why that little. . .' Guilt momentarily forgotten, Kagome sat up straight, balling her hands into fists at her sides as she fought to keep her temper.  
  
"My _name _is Kagome!" she growled, staring him directly in the eye and giving him a glare that could wilt flowers. "And YOU should stop squirming, you'll hurt yourself, idiot!"  
  
"Feh!" Inu-Yasha paused in his tirade, panting slightly. Amethyst eyes returned her glare tenfold and then some. "Wench, what the hell is going on? And you'd better give me a straight answer. . ."   
  
His knuckles cracked ominously.  
  
Kagome arched an eyebrow at him, finding it hard to be intimidated by a man who looked like a bad mummy in a corny horror film. "Are you threatening me?"  
  
Inu-Yasha growled.  
  
"Fine, fine, jerk," she threw up her hands in defeat. "I'm Kagome Higurashi, and you're in a hospital bed. I don't know who or where 'Kikyo' is, and for further reference I'm not her. You're wrapped and wired because the front of your car decided to get intimate with a rather large tree, and you decided to take an extended vacation to the Land of Nod when I called an ambulance," she huffed angrily, scowling. "There, happy now, O-Ye-of-Many-Bruises?"  
  
Inu-Yasha froze and allowed the words to sink in, his amethyst eyes widening in shock-- he took a good look at himself, turning his arms to examine the bandages in horror, gently running his fingers over his gauze-encased chest. Kagome didn't miss the twitch his face gave when his fingers brushed over a sensitive wound beneath the dressing.   
  
She sighed again, this time in sympathy, unable to imagine waking up in the hospital without anyone you knew or cared about there. 'Poor guy, I guess he does have a right to be upset. He must be so confused. . .'  
  
Kagome briefly reminisced to the time when she had had an asthma attack in the third grade. She had been over-exerting herself on the playground and passed out; when she came to, the entire Higurashi household (including the cat) was gathered around her bedside with anxious faces. The memory had always been a fond one, reminding her of how much her family cared.   
  
"Are you okay?" Kagome asked quietly, watching Inu-Yasha warily as he inspected his broken body. "Can I get you anything?"  
  
His eyes snapped up almost too fast for her to follow, locking onto her own and staring hard. She fidgeted nervously as he leaned closer, his eyes boring into her as he tilted his torso over the side of the cot to bring his face nearer to hers. Kagome could have sworn that those eyes were trying to see the back of her scull.   
  
"I know you. . ." his eyes narrowed as he tried to place the woman's face in his mind. She still held a great resemblance to his fiancé, but that wasn't the nagging deja vou that haunted her face. It was mostly her voice, actually, that struck up a certain familiarity in his memory.  
  
Kagome blinked, leaning as far away as possible without falling out of her chair. God, did he have to get so close? Even half closed, his eyes were unnerving.  
  
"You. . ." And then it clicked; his eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and rage. "You. . . YOU! You're that idiot who ran out in front of my car!!"  
  
She winced, his raucous voice causing her ears to ring. "Yeah, that was me. Sorry about that."   
  
His face turned about three different shades of red in the span of ten seconds. "You should be sorry, bitch! You nearly got me _killed_!!"  
  
Growling under her breath, Kagome placed a small hand on Inu-Yasha's bare shoulder, marveling inwardly at its firmness before shoving him backwards onto the cot. "Don't strain yourself being a jerk. You can yell at me when you're better, okay?"  
  
"Wench," he grumbled in a raspy whisper as his whole body winced on impact. The fall had placed an uncomfortable amount of pressure on a particularly sore wound down his spine. It hurt. A lot. "If you want me to get better, idiot, then don't make it worse!"  
  
"Ka-go-me. Is it that difficult, or do you just suck with names?" Kagome sniffed, lounging in the chair and crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Besides, it's _you_ who should be thanking _me_."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about, you moron? Did you forget, or are you too stupid to realize that you're the cause of all this?"  
  
"God, you are the biggest jackass I've ever met," she growled, smacking her forehead in frustration. Had she any idea of just how thick this man was, she'd have left him wrapped around the damn tree. "I'm the one that brought you here, you'd still be eating splinters if it wasn't for me!"  
  
"Keh," Inu-Yasha scoffed, "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have hit the stupid tree and we wouldn't be having this fucking conversation! This is _your_ fault, remember?"   
  
Kagome was going to explode any minute, she just knew it. Stubborn idiot, was it her fault he swerved to the left instead of the right? Had he turned right, he would have hit a mailbox instead. . . Besides, she was here giving him moral support, wasn't she? What more did he want from her?  
  
"YOU did this to me, you fucking bitch!"  
  
Kagome gritted her teeth, her fingernails biting deep into her palms. Just stay calm. . .  
  
"What kind of moron stops in the _middle of the fucking road_?!"  
  
Think happy thoughts, stay calm!  
  
"God, were you_ trying_ to kill someone or are you just brainless by nature?"  
  
Must. . . not. . . destroy. . .  
  
"I god damn well hope you have insurance, wench, 'cause YOU'RE paying for the damages to my car!"  
  
That did it.   
  
With an animalistic growl and a rage born from unadulterated aggravation, Kagome lashed out with all her might, her palm creating a loud, echoing _**SMACK**_ as it connected with Inu-Yasha's cheek.   
  
Stunned into an eerie silence, he reached up tentatively to touch the stinging bruise forming along his cheekbone. Kagome panted slightly, her hand still raised from the clout. She still felt quite a bit ruffled by Inu-Yasha's name calling, but the slap did help to make the situation feel a little more just.  
  
Unable to gain control of his voice, he sent her a glare that probably could have killed relatively small animals. Kagome glowered back, un-intimidated and still very, _very_ pissed.  
  
"Listen up, you sadistic bastard!" Kagome wasn't usually fond of foul-mouthed words, but this was a special occasion. "You should at least appreciate the fact that I'm here, visiting _you_! Have you noticed that _no one else_ decided to show up? Not your family, not your fiancé, no one! This room is _empty_! You should be grateful you got _ANYONE_ to come, you're such a fucking jackass I'm not surprised nobody else decided showed up!"   
  
In the time it took for a brief look of hurt flashed across Inu-Yasha's handsome features Kagome had swung from being psychotically angry to tremendously guilty. Perhaps she had been a little harsh, she really shouldn't have brought up his family like that-- it was a despicably low blow...   
  
However, the pained expression on his face was quickly replaced with indignation and anger, accenting the fresh bruise on his cheek.   
  
"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about." His eyes were dark and his voice was cold. Kagome shuddered. "You don't know anything."  
  
She had to look away, unable to hold his scorching gaze for very long, staring sullenly at the far wall. Inwardly, Inu-Yasha seethed. How dare she... how dare she! He hated that look she was giving him-- that disgusting blend of sympathy and guilt.   
  
She had no idea how his life was. She had NO FUCKING IDEA! She was a stubborn bitch, a stupid obstinate wench. And stupid obstinate wenches shouldn't talk of what they don't know.  
  
"I. . . you. . ." Kagome started, wanting so badly to stay angry but finding the guilt too much to silence. Damn it. "I. . . I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things. . ."  
  
It was the truth, and she felt horrible. She was an awful person; bringing up an injured man's evident abandonment and all that just to win a petty argument. Even after all Inu-Yasha had tantrumed and threatened, Kagome felt like the bad guy in the scenario.  
  
Inu-Yasha scowled, but the heat in his glare tapered slightly. "Feh, damn straight."  
  
Kagome blinked, not quite sure how to answer. She was relieved she no longer had to roast under his sweltering glower, but she hated seeing anyone miserable--including Mr. I-hate-you-and-I-have-a-wrench-up-my-ass-that-I-twist-hourly.   
  
"Look, this whole experience hasn't exactly been a picnic for me, either--" Inu-Yasha snorted, wondering how in the world she could possibly compare her pathetic brush with guilt to his broken and bandaged torso. "-- But I want you to know that I am sorry about it, and that I'll do what I can to make it up to you."  
  
"Feh," came the reply.   
  
Taking that as means to continue, Kagome pressed on, babbling more to herself than Inu-Yasha. "I figure that I can do some housework for you while you recover, and hopefully work off my debts."  
  
The man narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but Kagome efficiently cut him off with more prattle before he could get in a word of protest.  
  
"Kaede told me that you live alone, so-- since it probably goes against your manliness to learn how to cook-- I figure you wouldn't mind having me cook for you a few nights a week. A man can't live off of instant ramen forever, you know. As for the damages to your car; I can pay you whatever I get from my birthday money now, but I'm sort of working through college and don't really have a lot of spare funds, you see."  
  
Kagome paused for a breath, and Inu-Yasha jumped in before she could start up again.  
  
"Birthday money?" he asked skeptically, folding his arms across his injured chest and scowling deeply. "Right, let me guess: your birthday's inexplicably-- and not to mention extremely conveniently-- half a year away, am I right? Oh, but don't worry, you'll pay me back eventually, right? Keh, what do you take me for? An idiot?"  
  
Kagome chose to ignore the last comment, telling herself that it was far too easy (though extremely satisfying) to take a jab now.   
  
"Actually, today's my birthday. You'll get your money, you greedy jerk, I'm no liar," she mumbled, suddenly overcome with a dreadful surliness. Why was she wasting her twentieth birthday, one of the few birthdays she actually spent at home, with The World's Biggest Tight-Ass?   
  
"Keh, what? Are you expecting a compliment? Fine. Wonderful. Congratulations on popping out of your mom today, wench, because I'm sure it took so much effort on your part, right?"  
  
"That's it," Kagome growled, rising from her seat and striding determinedly towards the door. "I'm out of here. I hope they accidentally remove your bladder while trying to figure out how you managed to ram your head so far up your ass, scumbag."  
  
Privately she pondered where in God's name had she learned such vulgar phrases, though she figured it was probably Inu-Yasha's testosterone-driven ego that triggered her mind to spawn the nasty little snippets.   
  
Before he could make a spiteful comeback, the door swung open with a dry creak as Kagome stomped out, head held high and refusing to look back. Inu-Yasha snorted, folding his arms across his chest and staring heatedly at the wall, not quite pouting but dangerously close. 'Wench.'  
  
Outside, Kagome hastily weaved her way around the chaos in the hallway, flushed with anger and steaming inwardly. How _dare _he insult her like that, when she had come on her BIRTHDAY to make sure he was okay?! She had never met anyone so ungrateful! The least he could do would be to apologize for calling her names; she DID call an ambulance for him.   
  
She sidestepped a nurse carrying an IV bag. Well, screw him, the bastard! That jerk didn't deserve her sympathy.   
  
She had almost made it out the door without any interference. Almost. As soon as she placed a foot on the rubber mat to activate the automatic glass doors, Kaede caught her arm. She jumped in surprise, contemplating whether she should wrench herself from the grip and make a run for it-- God, did she hate hospitals.  
  
"Ms. Higurashi--" Kaede started, but Kagome held up a hand.  
  
"Please, just Kagome. 'Ms. Higurashi' makes me feel old."  
  
"All right, Kagome then," Kaede nodded, her eye gleaming knowingly. "I want ye to know that we appreciate ye coming here. It was a kindly thing ye did, visiting Mr. Hatsuyo and making sure he was well."  
  
Kagome felt her resolve melt, feeling slightly guilty for regretting coming. "Yeah."  
  
"Would ye like us to inform ye on Mr. Hatsuyo's condition?"  
  
"If you would, I'd like that." There was no hesitation in her answer. "Besides, I'll be visiting every once in a while until Inu-Yasha's recovered. Just keep me clued-up if his brains start leaking out his ears or something."  
  
Kaede smiled, revealing teeth that were crooked but still intact. "Of course, child. I'm sure Mr. Hatsuyo is grateful for the sentiment as well."  
  
Kagome stifled a snort. "Do me a favor, Ms. Kaede-- please, tell him I'll be by tomorrow with his first payment."  
  
Without waiting for the elderly nurse to respond, Kagome ushered herself out the open doors, listening for the soft breath of air as they closed automatically. As she walked to her car she noted glumly that it had stopped raining, leaving behind only soggy puddles and a damp fog that clung limply to her clothes and hair.  
  
'This is YOUR fault!' Inu-Yasha's voice echoed in her mind as she stepped into her Saturn and buckled up. 'YOUR fault! YOUR fault!'  
  
She growled inwardly, remembering his tactless insults and ramming the key into the ignition. Sure, she felt accountable for the whole thing, since she was pretty much the only party to blame. However, she was sure she'd have felt a whole lot worse for the situation if Inu-Yasha hadn't turned out to be such a complete ass.  
  
"Of _course_ Mr. Hatsuyo will be 'grateful the sentiment'," Kagome mumbled tetchily, lacing the words with sarcasm even though no one was around to hear her. "Grateful my ass. Jerk."  
  
Subconsciously she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, thinking vaguely of peppermints before pulling out of the parking lot. Finally, she was heading home; Sota would be furious that she had spent half the day at the hospital when she had promised to spend it at home with him.   
  
With a deft flick of her wrist she switched the radio on, checking for oncoming cars before merging with the main road. The sound of a steady snare and an odd combination of classical strings and a gravelly vocalist filled the small car-- a sad but uplifting sound combining the almost holy sound of violins and cellos with the sharp, grating voice of the singer.   
  
Kagome began to hum along; the melody was rather repetitive and not difficult to learn. The lyrics were simple as well, taking a rather cynical view of life but were pretty all the same.   
  
". . . _Well I've never prayed but tonight I'm on my knees, yeah_," The vocalist sang brazenly. "_I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah. ._ ."  
  
She smiled, tapping the steering wheel in sync with the rhythm. Kagome could almost feel the tight muscles unwinding as the music relaxed her, loosening the knots in her back and shoulders. Up until now, she hadn't realized how unbelievably tense her visit with Inu-Yasha had made her.   
  
"Ah, much better," Kagome sighed to herself, rolling her shoulders and making a turn into her subdivision. "It's a good thing I don't have to deal with that jerk everyday, or else no chiropractor would be able to untangle my muscles."   
  
Oh damn, that was right. She had promised Kaede she would visit, and she had told Inu-Yasha she would help him after he was released. She chewed the inside of her lip tensely.  
  
Great. Just great.  
  
She pulled into the drive, waving to Sota as he peered out the window, obviously eagerly awaiting her return. Kagome warmed to the idea, cutting the engine just as the radio faded out the last few words of the song:   
  
". . . _It's a bittersweet symphony, and that's life_. . ." 


	4. The Real World

**A/N:** Sprinkle Ham, Aoi Eko, AquaJibrille, Anti [.] Poptarts, and Kagome98, you guys are awesome. Really. I love the feedback you've been giving me so much that I'll be nice and give you a long chapter. This chapter in particular had be a bit frustrated, seeing as it didn't quite flow like I wanted it to... ah well. Such is life.

**DISCLAIMER:** Don't be stupid. You know what goes here.

* * *

**The Real World**

* * *

"Kagome!" No sooner had she opened the door, Sota had slammed into her, tackling the woman to the ground and attached himself to her legs. "Was the guy okay? Did he die? He didn't die, did he, nee-chan?"

Kagome grunted, vocally protesting the abuse her body was suffering as she picked herself up off the floor. Guess Sota's stronger than she thought. Stupid runts with their stupid bursts of sugar-induced energy. Brat.

"He's dandy," she groused, "Frickin' sunshine n' daisies."

She struggled against his clutches grumpily, trying to wrench her legs away from his tight embrace. Not that Kagome didn't love her brother; she did. She just wasn't in any mood to be bothered. She had been bothered for the majority of the day to the point where she would kill something if she were possibly bothered any more, and add just one more hindrance to her already crummy mood wasn't really helping.

"Geeze, grouch," Sota grumbled and released his sister, stepping back to give her a skeptical look. "What's with you? You were so worried earlier; I thought you'd be happy he's okay."

Hah! She should have left him pinned to the tree-- which, by the way, still stood with barely a mark as to where it clashed with the automobile. At least she wouldn't owe her neighbors for landscaping fees.

"Karma failed me-- given the situation, a guy like him should have been mangled beyond all recognition."

There was a pause as Sota groped for words. His sister was grouchy; it didn't take a genius to figure that out, but he wanted to say something to cheer her up a bit. She rarely ever came home to visit, and he did feel sort of bad for disobeying her earlier...

"But today's your birthday," he reminded her with a smile. "Maybe it's sort of like a birthday present!"

Kagome sneered.

"That's the most ass-backwards thing I've ever heard!" she spat hotly, raking a hand through her hair.

Sota's face darkened. Normally his sister was cheery and nice; she rarely ever swore or took a harsh tone with him. However, today she was being especially sour-- whatever had happened had obviously ticked her off royally. "I was only trying to help..."

Kagome heaved a defeated sigh, rubbing her temples tiredly. "I'm sorry, Sota. I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just-- that Inu-Yasha guy put me in a bad mood, that's all."

"Oh," Sota grinned. "What'd he do?"

"Um, just... things. He bugged me, that's all," she brushed off the question flippantly, heading up the stairs. The last thing she needed was to explain to her younger brother the joys of testosterone and chauvinism. "Is Momma home yet?"

"No, she called and said she'd be home in an hour or two," Sota shouted after her.

"You didn't tell her about the accident, did you?" Kagome paused on the steps, one hand gripping the railing in a subconsciously tight grip. The only thing that could have possibly made this day of living hell any worse would be to have her mother upset with her. Again.

"N-no," Kagome's brother mumbled sheepishly, almost too softly for Kagome to hear. "She'd get mad at me for not listening to you. I was scared n' didn't tell her..."

She nodded in agreement, releasing the rail from her white-knuckle grip as she breathed a sigh of relief.

With a tired, unintelligible murmur, Kagome headed for her room. Flicking on the light (and thanking God that she had painted the walls a peach-color before she moved out; they were originally white), she swung the door shut behind her and flopped gracelessly onto the bed.

Her mother-- a sweet, sentimental fool-- had left the room virtually unchanged since Kagome had graduated from high school. Pictures of her friends and family littered her walls and dresser-top, still-frames from the past that were only just beginning to fade. Her bedspread still had the same couch-like floral pattern, and her stuffed animals were tucked against the headboard.

It was peaceful to be in such familiar surroundings. Quiet and calm.

It was comforting.

It was consoling.

But it didn't change the fact that life officially sucked.

Kagome glared at the ceiling, her hands fisting in her sheets. Frustrated didn't even begin to cover the cacophony of emotions running rampant in her head. First and foremost, there was overwhelming guilt for nearly killing a guy and then insulting him in the hospital, then there was anger at his uncouth demeanor and tactless insults, and to top it all off there was annoyance for wasting her day visiting the aforementioned jackass.

She still couldn't believe he was forcing her to foot the bill for his car; it wasn't as if she ran out in front of him just to piss him off. If she had really wanted to get him mad she would have chucked a rock or some other large, heavy object at his car as he drove by instead of putting her own life on the line merely to spite him.

Come to think of it, the rock thing wasn't a bad idea... Serve him right, anyways. Of course, with her luck, she'd probably end up killing him. Then she'd feel really bad...

"Mmmrroww!" a throaty voice called from the foot of her bed, interrupting her train of thought.

"Buyo?" Rolling over half-heartedly, Kagome reached down to retrieve the portly cat. For a moment he lay languidly in her grasp, staring blankly at her as she pulled him close for a tight embrace. Then the cat, overwhelmed with joy, began to struggle to escape her grasp.

She let him go without much of a fight, huffing as the cat made a beeline for the door. Kagome rolled jerkily onto her back, lacing her fingers behind her head and tracing imaginary lines on the ceiling with her eyes. Wonderful. Even her cat was being a jerk.

_'I really am pathetic...'_

She sighed again, closing her eyes and drifting into a catnap. "Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me; God-turned-out-to-be-a-sadist-and-the-universe-is-trying-to-give-me-an-annurism, happy birthday to me."

* * *

"Hold out your arm for me, please."

With a seditious grunt, Inu-Yasha grudgingly extended his right arm to the nurse, refusing to meet her sympathetic eyes. Damn it, what was with people and feeling sorry for him? The wounds could have easily been worse, and he didn't need anyone's pity.

"This'll only hurt for a second, okay?" the young nurse smiled with a sickening mixture of reassurance and apology.

Inu-Yasha growled, glaring at the wall. "Don't patronize me, wench. Like a tiny pinprick is really going to tear me up after I've been impaled by my steering wheel."

He almost grinned as she made a strangled noise of indignation, but the opportunity was lost as she plunged the needle into the crook of his elbow with the delicacy of a MAC truck.

That bitch...

The nurse watched him grimace and bite back a hiss of pain, and thus smiled triumphantly to herself. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

"Jesus Christ, woman!" Inu-Yasha ground out between clenched teeth.

The nurse rolled her eyes, dabbing at the puncture wound with a gauze patch saturated with rubbing alcohol. "There, done, you big baby."

"Feh," he growled, crossing his arms over his chest. "Isn't it a violation of some law to abuse the injured or something?"

"Nope, it's perfectly legal." The nurse began gathering her tools, her ponytail falling over her shoulder in dark waves. "So I suggest you lighten up, grouch."

"I'd like to make a complaint with the matron of this wing," Inu-yasha eyed the nurse cagily. "My nurse is surly."

The woman rose, pointing to the plastic name badge fastened to a lanyard around her neck with a sarcastic sneer; the badge read **'SANGO TAJIYA'**. "Here's my name, what are you going to do with it? Turn me in for bad behavior?"

"Don't tempt me, wench."

With a casual one-fingered-salute, Sango marched out of the room in a way very similar to that wench, Kogamie or something's angry exit. Immediately his already pounding headache escalated to new levels, imitating the sensation of boards being nailed to the inside of his forehead.

Damn it.

And he had done so well in blocking the interlude from his memory... He still couldn't believe that pretentious little bitch had come in after causing his accident to insult him while he was an invalid at a hospital. What kind of sick, vindictive monster was she, anyways?

Though he kind of felt sort of bad for yelling at the girl so much. She did agree to pay for the damages to his car, and she did come to make sure he was alive and all that crap, and she did have the largest brown eyes he'd ever seen... But he was angry, and she was being rather stubborn about the whole 'blame' issue, and the last thing he needed was anyone's fucking pity...

But what really rattled his already frayed nerves was that of all the women to approach him as he drifted in and out of consciousness, it had to be someone who bared a strong resemblance to his fiancé.

_'God must hate me',_ he decided, blushing a bit as he remembered their rather... intimate first meeting. _'Fuck.'_

It wasn't his fault! He was injured, for Christ sake! It hadn't meant anything, since it wasn't really her he was kissing!

Even so, he prayed feverishly that Kikyo never found out.

The two women weren't exactly a perfect match, mind you, but their delicate features were inarguably very similar-- same 'bone structure', or whatever women call it. But it was just enough to make Inu-Yasha look twice.

God must _really_ hate him.

Of course, as far as personalities went, Kagome and Kikyo were at completely opposite ends of the spectrum. First of all, Kikyo never argued and was never stubborn. She made a point that she didn't need to be willful to be strong, and Inu-Yasha admired that. The wench, on the other hand, seemed to try her damndest to tick him off and then wouldn't shut up until she got the last word. Stupid bitch.

Secondly, Kikyo was elegant and ladylike, which meant she was soft-spoken and polite. Raised in upper-class society, Kikyo had to act like a princess, and always carried herself with a sense of dignity that was unmatched by any woman he had ever met. Kagome, however, was loud and discourteous; she let her hair hang loose and didn't make a conscious effort to glide when she walked. She was naïve and young and thought out loud whether the results were to her liking or catastrophic.

And despite all this, during their quarrels Inu-Yasha couldn't help but see Kikyo instead of Kagome, her image overlapping the wench's like a holographic overlay. Confused the hell out of him, damn it.

Speaking of which, where the hell was Kikyo? Why wasn't she here? He hated reaffirming the wench's accusations, but it was looking as if even his fiancé had ditched him...

_'Oh yeah, now I remember,'_ Inu-Yasha thought, tentatively lifting a hand to touch the bandage around his forehead. '_She's out of town getting her folks to help with the wedding.'_

Her folks... the wedding... the wedding!

Aw shit.

He fingered the bandages around his chest, feeling for the prominent stitches underneath the dressing. It hurt a bit, but thanks to 'SANGO' and her damn needle full of blessed sedatives, the pain wasn't as sharp as it was before-- kind of a dull aching instead.

Would he even be out of the hospital in time for the big day? Shit, he forgot to ask.

Well, he'd be damned if someone had to wheel him around for his own wedding.

A thought crossed him: well, if he still could get around well enough there'd be no reason to stay, right? He nodded to himself. Right. Besides, someone had to get home and feed the damn dog. Inu-Yasha figured the stupid beast had torn the apartment to slobber-saturated shreds by now without his master there to supervise.

Ah, the joys of domesticity.

Damn, what was that these ether-addict goonies said about his back and walking? Something like: 'blah blah blah, don't, blah blah, can't, blah-blah blah blah.'

"Oh well," Inu-Yasha thought aloud. "Only one way to find out."

Rubbing his palms together absently, he carefully lifted his right leg out of its sling so that he could swing both legs over the side of the bed. His bare feet hit the cool floor with a soft slap, and his ankle throbbed painfully at the contact. Grimacing, Inu-Yasha clenched the muscles in his injured foot, trying to get used to the ache. He wanted nothing more than to get out of this damn hospital, and he could take a little pain if it meant going home sooner.

With tentative, jerky movements that belied his natural grace, he slowly pushed himself up, holding his weight with his arms. Inu-Yasha hesitated momentarily, breathing deeply as he built himself up for the moment of truth.

With a final push he forced himself to his feet, baring the brunt his weight on his uninjured foot. His back ached through the numbing sedative haze, making every little movement erratic with pain and effort. The linoleum tiles were blessedly cool as he slowly limped across the room, careful not to rip the wires connecting him to the machine stationed at his bedside.

"There, that's not so bad." Inu-Yasha gritted his teeth as he made a complete circuit around the room. "It only feels like my foot's gonna fall off an' my back's gonna shatter into tiny pieces. No big deal..."

It was at that exact moment that he realized that trying to climb back onto the cot-- with all the extra bending and twisting he'd have to maneuver to pull it off-- would probably send a big enough shockwave through his body to knock him out again.

As he saw it, he had three options:

Option #1: Climb back onto the cot without assistance and cause major pain to himself.

Option #2: Freeze until someone came in. They couldn't ignore him for too long, right? ... Right...

Option #3: Throw himself on the altar of dignity and call for help.

Well, Option #3 was completely out of the question. Like he'd risk another teasing session with Sango, the nurse from hell with an armament of needles. Option #2 seemed safest, but his foot was already feeling like someone had nailed it to the floor. Waiting much longer would result in either collapsing or causing himself further injury.

His mind made up, Inu-Yasha fisted his hands in the mattress and slowly leaned forward. Immediately, pain began shooting up and down his spinal column as the bruised vertebrae bended uncomfortably.

He bit his lip to muffle the obscenities rising in his throat, using his arms to hover over the bed. Stars were beginning to dance in his vision as his head began to pound incessantly. Fuck, everything hurt!

Of course, then he lost his balance and flopped rather gracelessly onto the mattress, sending jolts of pain racking through every nerve in his system. With the muffled utterance of the word 'fuck' in the most vehement way manageable, Inu-Yasha drifted into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

"Mom?" Kagome stumbled downstairs, still a bit groggy from her nap. "Grandpa? Sota?"

The house was unusually dark for midday-- the lights were off and blinds were drawn, creating a thick blackness that made hazardous obstacles of normal furniture. Ruefully rubbing sleep from her eyes, Kagome felt her way into the kitchen, navigating her way by memory. . .

. . . and promptly falling flat on her face after tripping over the living room sofa. Apparently her memory was a bit rustier than she had originally thought.

"Hello? Guys?" Picking herself up off the ground, Kagome continued her way to the kitchen. "Where is everyone?"

There was a rustling in the dark, catching her off guard and causing her to bristle in surprise. "Hello?"

Her hand hit the kitchen doorframe just as the lights flicked on. She let out a shriek of surprise, taken aback by the chorus of voices that hit her tired senses head-on.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KAGOME!!!"

The room was alive with brightly colored streamers and festive balloons crowding the ceiling; Sota laughed and tossed handfuls of colorful confetti into the air, adding to the festive atmosphere. The paper pieces fluttered down and showered over her as she stared, frozen in shock. Kagome's family was huddled around the kitchen table; big, cheery smiles adorning their faces and surrounding the biggest chocolate cake she had ever seen.

"Whoa..."

She absently brushed confetti off of her head and shoulders, leaning down to take in the detail of the cake. The dark frosting was looped with white-letter words, reading 'Happy 20th Birthday, Kags!' in elegant cursive. The outer edges of the masterpiece were outlined with elegant white-frosting roses. Kagome's breath hitched in her throat as she took in the detail of each sugar petal-- it almost looked too pretty to eat.

Almost.

"Hurry up, Kagome!" Grandpa urged, inserting a large pink candle above the lettering and lighting it quickly. "Make a wish so we can eat! You know, this candle is actually a very ancient artifact originating from the Sengoku Jidai and made from a special plant, which grows only in the lower western hemisphere and..."

He would have continued for hours if Kagome's mother hadn't cut him off and motioned for him to get to the point. "... Yes, well. Unlike those cheap wax candles, THIS candle will REALLY grant the extinguisher one wish. It's true. Never distrust old folk lore."

Kagome could have cried. Here she was, undoubtedly having the words birthday of her entire life, feeling miserable and being a downright bitch to everyone, when they go and pull something like this. Simply family, being themselves the way she had always remembered. It was unbelievably sweet, and it warmed her heart to see her loved ones so happy for her.

"C'mon, 'Gome! Blow out your candle!" Sota said, trying to sneak a finger-full of frosting into his mouth.

'This is wonderful,' Kagome thought silently, 'Everything is perfect, I don't want anything more...'

With a sleepy grin she situated herself over the cake to contemplate the customary birthday wish. Not that many of her other birthday wishes had ever come true (despite Grandpa's ancient be-spelled trinkets, she never had gotten that pony), Kagome wanted to make this wish special, just in case it did.

At first she pondered material things, all of which were similarly enticing, but none seemed to fit the situation. Special times like these required equally important and serious decisions.

"Wish for a race car, Kagome!" Sota suggested, grinning happily.

"Wish for a beau," Grandpa nodded sagely. "I still can't believe you're unattached-- you'll die old and alone if you don't act soon."

Kagome blushed indignantly, opening her mouth to voice her embarrassment and annoyance. However, her mother put a comforting arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple lovingly, effectively shutting her up.

"Now, as much as I would love grandchildren..." Kagome's blush escalated through about five different shades of red. "... I think your wish should make someone happy. Maybe there's someone else you have in mind that needs a little luck."

Fatal words that sparked an idea in Kagome's mind.

With a secretive smile, the young woman gazed deeply at the lone candle, firelight flickering in her brown eyes. "I've got it."

She inhaled deep, reciting her wish in her mind and closing her eyes for effect before blowing at the tiny flame. It flickered pitifully before going out all together, and Kagome's family clapped.

"What'd you wish for?" Sota asked.

Kagome smiled knowingly, ruffling his dark hair playfully. "If I told you it won't come true."

Kagome's mother grinned proudly. "That's my girl. Now, if you would be so kind as to cut the cake, love?"

After chocolate cake had been dished out and the mood was mellow despite the gray skies outside, the family slipped into comfortable conversation. Of course, it was only when Kagome had relaxed and completely forgotten about her stressful afternoon did her mother decide to venture headfirst into the area of discussion that Kagome had been so keen on avoiding.

"By the way, Kagome," her mother started, innocently enough, "did you happen to see the Goshinboku's tree recently? There's this huge mark where all the bark's been scraped off..."

Kagome choked on her cake.

Mrs. Higurashi continued, however, without missing a beat. "... It must have happened this afternoon; it looked fine this morning. Looks almost as if a car or something had hit it. By the way, Kagome, where were you this afternoon? You disappeared for hours, dear."

Carefully forcing the forkful of rich chocolate down, Kagome gave her mother her sweetest, most apologetic smile, innocence gushing out of her widened eyes.

"Er, um, I love you...?"


	5. Ain't Misbehavin'

**A/N:** Hey, I'm back from the dead... sort of... Anyways, I thought I'd throw Miroku into the mix, hopefully for some more plot development (Thanks for pointing out the lack-of, KTX. You're the man!). To all of my wonderful, spectacular, kick-ass reviewers, you guys keep me inspired! Sorry it took so long for an update-- life's been busy kicking my ass.

**Disclaimer:** You know what goes here.

* * *

**Ain't Misbehavin'**

* * *

Miroku considered himself a stand-up guy. Charming, sweet, a bit dashing if in the right light... Maybe a little rough around the edges, but he was a man-- and wasn't that to be expected from the more hormonal of the sexes?

And as a straight-shooting Joe, Miroku was always a gentleman. How could one not be, in the company of such beautifully classy women? Why, he was downright chivalrous, if he did say so himself.

If that didn't have the ladies swooning, Miroku also thought of himself as a bit of a romantic. Not so much as to damage his testosterone levels (which were nothing to sneeze at, I assure you), but enough to be considered a tad hopeless. Elegant roses, moonlit evenings, jazz singers crooning 'Someone to Watch Over Me', holding her hand, caressing her--

"Damnit, Miroku!" Kagome screeched, grabbing a hold of his short ponytail and yanking hard, effectively averting his eyes from some of her... lower regions. "My face is _UP HERE_."

Yeah. Miroku was one stand-up guy. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

Kagome let out a sigh of frustration, burying her face in her hands. Miroku sighed as well-- Kagome had a pretty face, but she could be downright whiny at times.

"What I was saying... for the past half hour..." Kagome's dirty looks were promptly ignored. "... was that I signed my soul away to the most pompous ass on the planet."

They had decided to have a small meeting in the food court at the mall (at Kagome's insistent pleading), to discuss certain "recent events". Naturally, serious discussions with beautiful girls set off warning bells in Miroku's mind, but Kagome was his best friend, and as such deserved his utmost attention.

Plus, she threatened to plaster his 9th grade yearbook picture over every bathroom wall she could find.

And, being the gentleman he was, he cordially agreed to meet her wherever and whenever she wanted.

"What's stopping you from refusing to go?" Miroku asked distractedly, his mind beginning to wander... er... places. Kagome should've known better than to pick such a populated area to have a sober chat with him; there were far too many long legs and short skirts to be ignored.

"It's my fault his life could be permanently screwed up, I can't just walk away..." She deflated visibly, rubbing her temples as if to relieve the pressure steadily building around her brain. God, this entire situation was giving her one hell of a migraine.

Miroku's mind had gone too far, apparently, as his articulate response was a blunt: "Huh?"

"I caused accident. Car hit tree and driver got hurt. My fault, must find restitution. Problem: driver is complete jerk. Which part of this is confusing you?" She let loose a frustrated groan and pulled the ends of her hair.

"Alright, alright, just calm down." Dang, Kagome's headaches were contagious; Miroku gingerly massaged the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "So, this guy is a bit anal. Surely you can put up with the wart-faced old man for a little while, can't you?"

"Inu-Yasha isn't ugly," she defended, maybe a little too quickly, feeling her cheeks heat at her hasty comment. "I-I mean... h-he wasn't old, or anything. The nurse told me he was only 25."

Oops.

A snarky smirk began forming in the corner of Miroku's lips, a slight twinge upwards and a spark in his eyes, making him look devilishly handsome-- it was a look that, over the years, had come to haunt Kagome's worst nightmares.

"Now I see," he growled rakishly. "No doubt our little Kagome is having a spot of trouble with an antagonistic relationship."

Kagome's blush multiplied tenfold in indignant embarrassment. "I'm not having trouble with a relationship because there is no relationship! He's a JERK who doesn't deserve our sympathy! He's not even an _available_ jerk! He--"

"Ahh!" Miroku rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his smirk widening as he cut her tirade short. "So he's currently engaged in another relationship! I see your distress. But I'm sure true love will prevail, my dear, even if you have to play the part of 'the other woman' for a while. One day he'll see you're clearly the better choice and the two of you will settle down together and have many babies and be happy."

Apparently, aside from being a romantic, Miroku was also a great consultant.

"Gah! You're hopeless!" Kagome moaned, resting an elbow on the table and burying her face in her hands.

"That's what they tell me."

Kagome looked up through splayed fingers, only to see Miroku ogling a particularly busty female shopper flouncing down at the table next to them with enough shopping bags to smother an elephant. Miroku's mischievous grin had remained unchanged, though his expression had altered from playfully teasing to lecherously leering as the woman bent over to deposit her armload onto the floor.

Kagome snorted, shaking her head. "I'm ashamed for you, Miroku. So very ashamed."

"Mmmhmm..." came the reply.

"Unless you've changed your tactics, which I'm going to assume you haven't," Kagome favored him with a level stare, "you don't have a snowball's chance on a hot summer's day."

The man's gaze never dropped nor changed in intensity. "Mmmhmm..."

Well if that's how he was going to play...

"Fifty bucks."

As expected, Miroku's head whipped around so fast Kagome almost couldn't follow it. "What?"

She grinned triumphantly. It was almost too easy. "Fifty dollars says you can't charm that lovely stranger over there."

Kagome had Miroku in the bag, and they both knew it. The combination of money and a good dare had always been too sweet for Miroku to pass up. In their childhoods, Kagome had often gambled the poor boy out of his cupcakes at recess, though it never did manage to hamper his competitive streak.

"Deal."

They confirmed the bet with a handshake, both wearing equally smug grins. "Well, go to it."

"With pleasure, Kagome."

With deliberate care, Miroku stood, picking an invisible speck of lint off his T-shirt before swaggering over to the oblivious shopper with his most charming smile in place. The woman, looking a bit more flustered than flattered, gave him a tiny grin as he took the liberty to occupy the vacant chair across from her.

Kagome had to admit, Miroku certainly had a way with words, for the most part. When they had met, she _did_ have a slight infatuation with his advanced vocabulary and articulate manner. Add that to a handsome face and you have the makings of a genuine Prince Charming.

_However_, those feelings were almost immediately squashed after Miroku "expressed" his feelings.

"Madam, don't worry yourself! A frown is nowhere near as becoming as a smile on that beautiful face."

Oh. He was good.

"Please," at this point, Miroku had gotten down on one knee and held the woman's hand in one of his own. His other hand, however, was inching very slowly towards the woman's generous cleavage. "I'm afraid that my family is cursed with a horrid disease that will, unfortunately, claim my life in a matter of months-- no, spare me no tears. All I can possibly ask from you would be for you to do me the honor of bearing..."

Kagome had heard enough; she knew perfectly well where this was going. She turned her head away out of decency, since it was far too painful to witness...

TWACK!

It wasn't long until Miroku pulled himself back into the chair next to Kagome, his face twisted in a sour expression accented by a red, hand-shaped bruise throbbing painfully on his cheek.

"Not bad, Miroku. At least this one didn't stab you with a salad fork." Kagome's victorious grin was nothing short of haughty. "Did you manage to catch her name before she pummeled you?"

Miroku pouted. "Alas, you win again. I shall die both alone and broke. Thanks a lot, Kags."

"I do try."

They chuckled a bit before falling into a comfortable silence.

Nothing had ever been awkward between them (with the exception of Miroku's wandering hand; that would make any girl uncomfortable); it was always familiar in a way that could not be described.

How this familiarity came about, no one seemed to know, since it seemed a lecher like Miroku was incapable of a platonic relationship-- but no one questioned Kagome's taste in company nor speculated the origins of their closeness. Everyone Kagome Higurashi was far too innocent to be accused of indecent behavior.

Miroku studied his friend out of the corner of his eye, watching closely as she sipped the remnants of her soda with little delicacy. Long raven hair that curled around her slim shoulders, slender figure, large brown doe-eyes and a sprinkling of near-invisible freckles across the bridge of her nose; Kagome was pretty, he observed-- not in an elegant way but more in a cutesy-pink-dress way.

And she had the longest legs he had ever seen on a woman.

"So," he started when hearing the slurping noise of Kagome's straw at the bottom of her empty cup, "what did you really call me here for? I know it wasn't just to have your ten second rant and then cheat me out of fifty bucks..."

She gave him a smiling sigh before replying in an apologetic tone, "I promised I'd visit Inu-Yasha today."

"And...?" Miroku blinked in confusion, folding his arms casually across his chest.

"And..." Kagome continued hesitantly, "I was hoping that maybe you'd come with me... you know, for emotional support."

He had to laugh at this. "For you, or for the man you almost killed?"

The withering glare the comment earned him effectively minimized his laughter to a thin giggle.

"Sorry," Miroku amended with an awkward cough. He'd almost forgotten how moody Kagome could be. "Something's confusing me here; why did you say you'd visit this 'Inu-Yasha' character if you really, really didn't want to visit him?"

Kagome frowned. "I promised I'd deliver his first payment to cover his car, so he'd take me seriously."

"But you waitress tables at some po-dink little diner in between grueling college classes. Where are you getting the money to pay this guy?"

"I returned the cashmere sweater Mom bought me for my birthday," Kagome said regretfully, "and the weird key-chain thing Grandpa got for me. Add that to what I had saved for back-up rent..."

Miroku cocked an eyebrow at her, still obviously skeptical. "And how's that enough for a first payment?"

Kagome gave him a wry grin. "By the way, you still owe me fifty bucks."

Sigh. "Never mind..."

* * *

Bored. Inu-Yasha was B-O-R-E-D fifty times over and then some. Damn, Sango wasn't even nice enough to turn on the television after she pummeled him for getting out of bed before the doctors said he could.

It had been hours since he'd last had contact with a human being (he had also found out that Sango hit fucking hard), but it felt like years. At times he could faintly hear the clattering of sterilized tools on trays through the closed door as the white-clad nurses continued their rounds, though none took the initiative to check on him after the Sango-needle-bitch had applied her sedatives.

What he wouldn't give for that irritating Kagame wench or whatever her name was to irritate and argue with. It would at least give him _something_ to do.

He'd counted all fifty-three ceiling tiles eight times already (finding it slightly strange for a square room to have an odd number of tiles), and had read and re-read all the peeling button labels on the whirring machine connected to his pulse. In fact, Inu-Yasha was surprised he understood the majority of the strange abbreviations, though it really didn't do much to entertain him for long.

How did invalids DO this all day?

White, white, and more white-- there really wasn't much to look at, what with the tiny window being on the other side of the room and all, and even then it was facing the brick wall of the building next door. Did hospitals really expect their patients to recover from traumatizing incidents in a room similar to the empty cells of an asylum?

God, if he didn't find something to do soon, he'd go fucking insane.

With a heavy sigh, Inu-Yasha squirmed in his sheets, rumpling them around his waist as he sought more comfortable position. His open-backed hospital gown crackled like paper as he moved, and rubbed irritatingly against his bare skin. Damn, he hated hospitals.

The mattress was thick and stiff, and though he really hadn't expected any different it was still damn frustrating not being able to reach the refuge of sleep.

"Fuck." He cursed softly, feeling a twinge in his back as he pulled a sore muscle. "Ouch."

Mentally, Inu-Yasha made a note to really piss off that wench when she came back to get even for this undeserved torture. Why did his back still hurt even after the damn painkillers had been administered?

With a growl, he slammed himself back against his pile of over-starched pillows, smelling a puff of sanitizer as it escaped from the fabric. It burned his eyes and the back of his throat until he ended up hacking and coughing like a chain-smoker, wheezing something awful and spitting the bile that rose in his mouth on the floor next to his bed.

Damnit.

Life was being a major bitch, and it was really starting to tick him off.

* * *

The hospital was blandly quiet today; no sick children, no drunk drivers, no cancer-riddled smokers, no freak heart attacks, no nothing. The waiting room was ghostly empty and the recovering patients were contently quiet. Normally, this sort of healthy lull in the rush of injury would come as a pleasant godsend to any good-hearted citizen.

But it only bored Sango to tears.

Man, was she ever ready for her shift to be over. Today she'd decided to take an earlier one, and now could enjoy her sterilizer-free evening at home. Lingering at the front desk, the young woman glanced periodically at the plain-faced clock on the wall while fiddling with her plastic name badge, watching the second hand slowly twitch its way towards freedom. Five more minutes, four minutes and fifty-five seconds, four minutes and forty-eight seconds...

She'd go home to take a long bath to rid herself of those nasty sanitizer smells that clung to her every day, Sango decided, that is, after she treated herself to a large lunch at a nice restaurant. A chicken ceaser salad sounded heavenly, with loads ranch dressing and the olives weeded out.

Three minutes and thirty-two seconds...

And she'd finally have time to go to the gym for a nice workout-- maybe she'd even bring her younger brother along, if he'd like to come. And after the gym she'd be relaxed and refreshed, so she could finish that over-due book she'd borrowed from the library a couple months ago.

Two minutes forty-seven seconds...

Later she'd pick up a few chick-flicks at the nearby video-rental place and make lots of low-fat popcorn, not too buttery and a bit burnt. She liked it that way. Then she'd sit down with a box of tissues and have an uninterrupted night of Steel Magnolias and Sleepless In Seattle.

One minute six seconds...

It was in the last few seconds of her shift that Sango heard the automatic doors whoosh open. Her eyes darted across the room in hopes of escape, but it was too late, for a small hand had already gripped her sleeve in a hesitant manner to grab her attention.

"Excuse me, Miss..." a pretty girl with raven hair scanned her person for a name badge, "...Tajiya, would you mind helping us find Mr. Inu-Yasha Hatsuyo? I'm supposed to give him something."

Sango sighed in defeat. So much for getting off on time. "Of course, you must be Miss Higurashi. Kaede told me you were coming. Please, follow me."

From what she knew, Sango was a very perceptive person and a great judge of character. And something was bothering her about the strangers. The Higurashi girl had a nice, open smile that was just a tad bit contagious; she seemed like a friendly, innocent person if you let the whole nasty car accident thing go.

Her companion, however, seemed a bit shifty, in Sango's honest opinion. His expression was schooled and unreadable, though the intense leer he was giving her was making her a bit uncomfortable.

"Miss Tajiya," his pronunciation was flawless despite the hard-to-read/spell last name, "is there any particular reason that Mr. Hatsuyo is so far into the wing while rooms closer to the front remain empty?"

Sango blinked in surprise. Not many people were observant enough to notice their rather odd (though completely wonderful) rooming system. It was simple, really. The loud/obnoxious patients went to the back, while the soft-spoken polite ones got to stay closer to the front where their visitors and nurses could reach them quickly if needed (Kaede was brilliant for coming up with it).

"No reason, really," she replied, watching the stranger out warily of the corner of her eye as he nodded in response.

He was sinfully handsome; she wasn't about to deny it. He was the kind of guy her girlfriends swooned over. His face could have been on a movie poster, even. His dark hair was longer than most men's and pulled back into a sort of rat-tail at the nape of his neck, and his face was boyish despite the obvious years behind those wizened blue eyes...

... His hands, however, did not seem to know where to put themselves.

Sango's eyes widened and her whole body went stiff with shock as she felt a gentle-- but unmistakably evident-- pressure on her rear.

Kagome cowered as their nurse turned an unhealthy shade of angry maroon. She almost felt sorry for Miroku.

"Why you...!!!"

"I'm sorry, Miss. It was an accident. Besides, it was the perfect opportunity..."

Almost.

There was the unmistakable slap of skin connecting with skin as Sango whirled on Miroku with deadly intent. Kagome couldn't help but wince as the blow sent the man flying.

"PERVERT!" her indignant cry carried surprisingly well through the empty corridors.

Miroku, however, was not conscious enough to hear it. Evidently Sango was much stronger than her slender frame let on, and the poor man lay sprawled over the floor.

"My god, I'm so sorry!" Kagome muttered hurriedly, burying her face in her hands in an obvious act of embarrassment. "He told me he'd behave, geeze, I'm so sorry! He's just--"

The irate Sango huffed for a moment, her hand raised and poised for another attack. "It's not your fault, Miss Higurashi."

"Kagome," the girl amended. "Call me Kagome."

"Kagome, then," Sango nodded politely, taking a deep breath and mentally counting to ten. "It wasn't your fault this lecher groped me. There is no need for you to apologize. Him, however..."

She gave Miroku's prone form a none-too-gentle kick.

"... May the Gods help him once he regains his feet," the nurse managed to grind out between clenched teeth.

Miroku tried to make some muffled comment from his position on the floor, but Kagome ground the heel of her tennis-shoe into the back of his head before he could exhale more than a stifled yelp.

"Quiet, you," she grumbled, her cheeks still a bit red with embarrassment. "I should have never asked you to come. You're nothing but a nuisance."

"Mmfph," came the reply.

Sango snorted, turning on her heel and continuing down the hall. "You have an odd taste in friends, Kagome. Now hurry, visiting hours are almost over."

Kagome nodded in agreement, moving her foot and allowing the unfortunate Miroku to stand before heading after Sango.

For his part, the man recovered quite quickly from the abuse he had received and had caught up with the two peeved women, regarding them with a passive expression. Long ago, Kagome had dubbed this impenetrable poker face of Miroku's his "Buddha face", and watched him suspiciously. He only used his "Buddha face" when...

Crap.

"Miss Tajia," his voice was humbled as if he spoke in earnest, "I want to apologize for my rude and forward behavior. Your beauty was just too great that I could not ignore it, please forgive a poor man for falling head over heels for a gorgeous woman."

For a moment it looked as if Sango might actually consider exonerating Miroku's actions... that is until another hand decided to wander a bit too far south.

"Forgive my forwardness, but I can't hold it in any longer. Please, would a beautiful lady such as yourself do me the honor of bearing my children?"

Sango considered herself a patient person. Tolerant, enduring even. But the hand caressing her breasts quickly snapped the tense wire of fortitude and sent the nurse spiraling into an animalistic rage.

_Kill, kill, kill!_

With a roar of frustration, the nurse's fist flashed out for the second time, leaving Miroku with a particularly nasty lump on his head. "LECHER!!"

Kagome sighed as Sango strode off purposefully to the last room at the end of the hall, hands balled into tense fists as she knocked open the door without waiting for the others to catch up. An indignant yelp could be heard from the corridors as the hapless Inu-Yasha suffered the remains of Sango's wrath. There were audible clangs and shouts-- Kagome assumed the livid nurse was throwing things-- before Sango emerged again, eyes blazing.

"I said get up, jerk!! There are people to see you!" she spat from the door.

Kagome met her there, placing a hand on the nurse's shoulder apologetically before heading in. "Sorry again for all the trouble, Miss Taji--"

"Sango," the nurse revised with a small smile, which was promptly returned. That Kagome girl really did have a nice open smile.

The glare directed over her shoulder instructed Miroku to wait outside. His attention was too engaged to argue, as he made a pass at Sango's chest as he walked passed her. However, the woman's reflexes were sharper than he had anticipated and in the blink of an eye he was flipped over her shoulder and onto his back.

"So," how he managed to stay cocky while being thrashed by a woman, Sango would never know, "I didn't know you were into the whole S&M thing, but I'll try anything once."

Those were the last words Miroku spoke before meeting what he guessed was the flat end of a nearby bench.


	6. Runaround

**A/N: **I LIIIIIIVE! Okay, sorry for the super-long disappearance. My writing has just been going in all these different directions—I'm writing fiction now [shamelessplug] you can find my stuff on fictionpress.com under SirusPolars[/shamelessplug], as well as working on essays which will enable me to afford college tuition. Needless to say, my fanfictions got put on the backburner for a really long time; for this, I cannot apologize enough.

So, if it's any consolation, I'll give you this:

A preview of chapter 6!!! Wooo!!!!

Okay, so it's half a chapter—big deal! I'm just glad I somehow squeezed it out of me before I completely lost all of my readers. The finished product of this chapter should be up sometime in the next two weeks, so please look for it! :)

**Disclaimer: **Blah blah blah blah blah not mine blah blah.

* * *

**Runaround**

* * *

It figured. There was no way he was going to escape the boredom of sitting around and healing. God seemed to be taking measures to ensure that he consciously endured the whole damn painful process, the jerk.

Inu-Yasha was just drifting off to what promised to be a liberating sleep (it was a pain in the ass to find that illusive comfortable position, what with the damn paper gown itching and crinkling every time he moved), when there came a clatter outside of his door. He grumbled angrily, trying to ignore the sound of conversation just beyond the wall, but the noises seemed magnified in the blank tile chamber of the hospital and echoed insistently inside his head.

With an irritated growl, Inu-Yasha sat up, letting the sheets pool around his waist. There was no way he'd be able to sleep with those idiots yakking so loudly. What sort of morons strike up a conversation outside of a hospital room? Didn't they know the injured needed their rest?

The talking continued, so he assumed they didn't.

So it appeared he was back at square one again-- back to being completely, utterly, mind-numbingly bored. Absently, Inu-Yasha stared at his hands, laying palm-up at his sides. His left was taped at the wrist to hold the tube transporting fluids into his system in place, the clear pipe coiling about his forearm and trailing to the IV at his side. He wiggled his fingers experimentally, watching the tendons move the tube slightly and disrupt the flow of the slightly-off color liquid. It didn't hurt-- in fact, his fingers felt surprisingly numb and cumbersome, probably from the painkillers his nurse had roughly introduced into his system a few hours ago.

Distantly, he pondered to himself what would happen were he to grab the tube and remove it from his arm. Sango would probably come in and kick his ass from here to the moon, but he couldn't really see any reason for the stupid thing to be there. It wasn't as if he needed the aid of the damn fluids or anything, the accident hadn't caused any damage to his organs other than bruise them. He was fully conscious and could eat, drink, and piss just fine; he certainly didn't need anyone simplifying the process.

His right hand moved on its own accord, long fingers positioning themselves to pinch the base of the clear duct. One good yank and…

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Inu-Yasha's fingers slackened their grip on the tube as his eyes strayed to the door, following the sound of the voice and narrowing to hide his surprise.

Leaning casually against the doorframe was the reason the tube was jammed in his wrist in the first place, dressed in a pair of flattering hip-hugger jeans and a t-shirt that read "Rusty's Diner: No shoes, No shirt, No problem!". Hair loose and curling around her shoulders with her small hands thrust nonchalantly through her belt loops, she watched him with a lax expression on her face, looking the epitome of quietude.

"I'm sure your nurse would be gravely upset with you if you ripped out your IV." She smirked softly, brown eyes twinkling with a slight smugness. "I know I wouldn't want to face an angry Sango if I could avoid it."

Reluctantly, he had to admit; for a pain in the ass, she looked damn cute, especially without the drowned-rat look. Part of his brain gagged at the thought-- his almost-assassin? Cute?

"Feh. What do you want, wench?" Inu-Yasha folded his arms across his chest defiantly. "I'm sure it's not to tell me what's good for me, so spit it out and leave."__

There was an indignant spark that flickered across her face, and she narrowed her eyes to favor him with the beginnings of a cold glare.

However, just when he thought he was going to get a good rise out of the girl, she sighed heavily and ran a hand through her hair, her anger dissipating before his eyes into a more exasperated disposition.

"Look…" She offered him a small smile, rising from her slouch and crossing the room to sit in the collapsible chair beside his bed. "I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot and--"

"Whatever tipped you off to that one? Was it the part where you sent my car careening into a tree or the part where you verbally assaulted me in my sick-bed?"

A hint of the fire he'd seen yesterday rose behind her eyes, but it died quickly. She seemed to be fighting her temper valiantly, but it would go against his very nature to let her waltz in without a good row. He smirked to herself, watching her inward battle with her sharp tongue.

Kagome swallowed and started again, furrowing her brows and trying desperately to keep from bursting with obscenities. "What I _mean_ is: I think we should start over."

She extended her hand and smiled again. "I'm Kagome Higurashi, the girl who accidentally put you into this mess. I'm really sorry and I promise to make it up to you, Mr. Hatsuyo. I hope you can forgive me and so we can be in a room together without trying to kill each other."

Inu-Yasha only stared at her offered hand with a look that clearly said he thought she was insane.

The two sat stock-still for a moment, as neither was willing to back down first-- Kagome still holding out her hand in a sort of melodramatic peace offering, and Inu-Yasha cocking an eyebrow at it like it was the stupidest thing he had ever seen.

It wasn't long before Kagome gave up with an aggravated sigh, whipping her hand back to grab something from her back pocket. Inu-Yasha watched her out of the corner of his eye-- not that he was cared what she was doing, or anything-- but the way she was wiggling in her seat to reach beneath her was doing all sorts of interesting things to those low-riding jeans…

Bah! Bad thoughts to be thinking about the evil wench! Mental slap for Inu-Yasha. Faintly, he wondered what a rotten girl like her was doing with such a nice figure… the smarter part of him whispered "_devil's advocate"_ at the back of his mind.

Lost in his thoughts, Inu-Yasha gave a slight jump in surprise as a wrinkled envelope was waved under his nose. "What the--"

His eyes followed the length of the slightly-crumpled note, down the extended arm to meet the impatient scowl Kagome was giving him. She rolled her eyes when he met her gaze, whacking him lightly on the side of the head with the envelope.

"Consider it a first installment towards your auto and medical bills." She watched him swipe the letter from her grasp with a mixture of annoyance and regret-- it was rather difficult to watch all that money go straight into someone else's pocket.

"Feh," was his reply.

Not like Kagome was expecting a "thank you" anyways. "There's $2850.00 all together. You can count it if you want; it's all there."

But Inu-Yasha only set the envelope on the top of the monitor next to his bed and gave her a level stare. Kagome fidgeted a bit, uncomfortable under the scrutiny of those amethyst eyes. "Look, I will pay you, but it just might take a while… I mean, I've given you all the money I could possibly spare right now…"

It was very un-Kikyo like of her to twiddle her thumbs like that. Inu-Yasha smirked; she was practically frying under his glare. It was quite satisfying.

"Okay, wench-- here's what we're gonna do…" he leaned forward to address her, opting to save her from her miserable squirming. "I won't charge you any more money for my bills…"

Kagome's heart rose hopefully.

"… but in exchange, you'll be expected to work for me until all the wedding shit is done with."

And just as quickly, it burst into flames. "What exactly will I be expected to do?"

Inu-Yasha grinned in a complacent way, ticking off each task on his fingers. "First off, you'll do the basic housework-- that means you'll make sure my dog doesn't destroy anything, you'll keep him fed, you'll do my laundry and make sure the apartment is spotless at all times, AND you'll help me move all the shit out of the guest room to prepare it for my wedding guests. I hope you know how to cook as well—you'll be making all my meals and any in-between snacks when I want them."

Kagome tried to keep a straight face-- really she did-- but she couldn't fight the look of disbelief crossing her features. Surely he was jesting; no man living alone could possibly have _that_ much work to be done around the home.

"Also…"

There was _more?!_

Inu-Yasha continued without missing a beat. "You'll be expected to help Kikyo with the wedding preparations when she comes into town, as well as take care of my nephew. He's a pain in the ass—you'll have your hands full with him."

Kagome sighed. "Anything else?"

There was no way Inu-Yasha's smirk could grow any wider without splitting his face in half. "I'm sure I'll think of something. Basically, you'll do what I tell you without complaint for the next month, and we'll forget the whole payment business. Deal?"

Kagome hesitated, seriously considering putting in the extra shifts at the diner as well as selling all of her worldly possessions as opposed to the massive amount of work Inu-Yasha would have her doing. But the more reasonable part of her insisted that it'd only be for a month, and once it was over she'd still have all of her stuff.

Still…

"No funny business…"

Inu-Yasha snorted. "What do you take me for?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Kagome retorted, favoring the man with a flat stare. Unfortunately, her barb was easily deflected by his rather self-satisfied smirk—it was obvious he was enjoying playing her guilt to his advantage.

"Last chance," Inu-Yasha warned triumphantly, "going once…"

Man, she REALLY wanted to smack him again-- maybe that would dilute that irritatingly smug sneer he was wearing.

"Going twice…"

"I…" Kagome faltered with her tongue on the verge of an agreement; Inu-Yasha's grin only widened. At that point, she would have given _anything_ to deny the jerk the satisfaction of her subservience. She was willing to go as far as trading her very soul for something heavy and blunt to beat him with, if it were a viable trade.

"Take it or leave it, wench."

"KA-GO-ME! My name's KAGOME!" His voice was already starting to grate on her very last nerve.

"Whatever."

Life was so unfair. Of all people she had to kowtow to… It simply had to be a cruel twist of unmerited karmic punishment. Really, what sort of horrendous crime against humanity would a person have to commit in order to deserve a month servicing the biggest asshole in the history of mankind?

Inu-Yasha was tickled pink with the situation— the girl was squirming under his thumb and they both knew it. "So what's it gonna be?"

Man, life sucked.

"Fine!" Kagome spat, crossing her arms in a huff and looking sharply away. "But I'll have you know that this has nothing to do with your stupid proposition. I'm only doing it because my stupid conscience refuses to leave me alone until I square things up with you."

The man simply shrugged, his victory affirmed. "You could be doing this to better your chances of growing a second head—it doesn't matter to me. You got a pen?"

A pen?

Kagome blinked, thrown off by the abrupt change in the direction of their conversation. "Uh, yeah, I think…"

Inu-Yasha tried his damnedest not to stare as she fished around in her pants pockets again. What was his deal today? It wasn't as if the wench was remotely likable… she wasn't even that impressive when it came to T&A, so _why_ was his blood heating in a way that it certainly should NOT be heating?!

Dear God, he hated himself.

It was in that brief moment-- watching Kagome bite her lower lip as she fumbled around in her pockets for a pen-- that Inu-Yasha saw the word 'trouble' write itself all over her slim frame. If this sporadic instance of raging hormones wasn't just some medicinal side effect, then this bitch was going to be a hell of a problem if she was sticking around for an entire month.

He sincerely hoped that once Kikyo came back everything would return to normal and hating the bitch would come easier.

"Hello? Earth to Inu-Yasha. Come in, Inu-Yasha." Inu-Yasha's dark eyes snapped up, only to find Kagome giving him a skewed look and beating his head lightly with a pen. "Where'd you go just now?"

He masked his embarrassment with a loud "Keh" before swiping the pen roughly from the girl's hand and clicking it once to extend the inked tip. There was no way he was going to let this stupid girl get to him. "Gimme your hand."

Kagome glared at the man suspiciously, her hands firmly rooted by her sides. "Why?"

"Oh for crissakes! This isn't grade school—I'm not gonna write a stupid dirty word or draw nasty pictures, so just give me your damn hand." With a slight lean forward and a swing of his hand, he'd captured Kagome's fingers in his own and pulled it toward his chest, scrawling directions on the back of her hand.

Kagome tried very hard to focus on anything but the way his callused fingers grazed her palm, or the dark look of concentration in his amethyst eyes, or the heat radiating from his hands…

"What are you doing, anyways?" she demanded, though the venom was gone from her voice to be replaced by a slight squeak. She'd better not be blushing…

"Giving you your first assignment of the month," Inu-Yasha said simply, clicking the pen close and tossing it back at her. "There's something I need you to take care of for me."

* * *

That's all for now folks! Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of Chapter 6, **Runaround. **


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